Large capacity safety valve



March 24, 1942. j R. E. FALLS 2,277,655

' LARGE CAPACITY SAFETY VALVE Original Filed Jan. 5, .1959 2 Sheets-Shae? 1 March 24,; 1942. I R. FALLS 2,277,655.

' Y LARGE CAPACITY SAFETY VALVE Original Filed Jan. 5, 19 39 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ritented Mar. 24, 1942 LARGE CAPACITY SAFETY VALVE Robert E. Falls, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Crane Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Original application January 5, 1939, Serial No.

249,358, now Patent No. 2,261,461, dated November 4, 1941. Divided and this application February 27, 1941, Serial No. 380,806

3 Claims. (Cl. 137-53) This invention appertains to valves and more particularly to the type known as full area pop safety valves and is a division of my co-pending application, Serial No. 249,358, filed January 5, 1939, now Patent No. 2,261,461 granted Nov. 4, 1941.

It is an object of my invention to provide a valve for compressible fluids, such as steam, air, gas and the like, which when wide open will admit passage therethrough of substantially that quantity of fluid which would flow through the nozzle or seat bushing of the valve if valve disc and superstructure were removed and the fluid allowed to escape to atmosphere.

Another object of my invention is to provide a safety valve in which the lifting forces acting upon the closure member when the latter is not in contact with its seat are relatively low, thus the valve requires a comparatively light spring to resist the action of the lifting forces.

Another object of my invention is to provide a plurality of manually and automatically adjustable regulator means which restrict the flow of fluid past the closure member, thereby effecting higher lift of the closure member andmaximum flow through the valve.

Another object of my invention is the construction of a pop safety valve in which the inlet and outlet pressure ratios may be maintained automatically by resilient mounting means for the pop and blowdown regulator rings.

Another object is the provision of a pop safety valve having axially movable pop and blowdown regulator rings mounted on a spring member,

I am aware that substantially full-area discharge has been achieved byothers, as for example, in the United States Patents #86,l68 to Low, #306,208 to Ashton et al., and #1,'743,430

to Coflin, by deflecting or reversing the flow of escaping fluid, thus utilizing the reactive force to effect suflicient lift of the closure member or disc to change the controlling orifice from the disc-seat opening to the throat or inlet opening of the valve. The principle of the operation of my invention is based upon the application of a fundamental law of the flow of compressible fluids which in effect states that the rate of discharge of a compressible fluid through a nozzle of a given throat area and at constant inlet pressure is a function of theinlet pressure alone, provided that the back pressure on the nozzle is equal to or less than a certain pressureknown as the critical pressure. I

The above referred to law, which has been established theoretically and by actual tests, re-

stricts Napiers formula and other empirical formulas' for the discharge of compressible fluids through nozzles and orifices as these formulas are applicable only when the back pressure is i less than the critical pressure. The critical'pressure of a gas or vapor may be considered one of the fundamental properties of the substance and generally is different for different substances. The ratio of the critical pressure to the inlet pressure of a particular compressible fluid may be expressed in terms of its specific heats, that is,

achieve full area discharge, could not have a back pressure exceeding approximately 58 pounds per square inch absolute.

Another way of stating the fundamental law above referred to is to say that the rate of dis-' charge of compressible fluids through an opening is not influenced by the contour or character of the outlet opening, provided that any obstruction or restriction of the flow in the outlet opening is not sufficient to cause a back pressure at the throat or minimum area of the inlet opening greater than the critical pressure of the fluid. However, there is one exception to the general law which must be kept in mind in 'adap ing the principle to a safety valve. In order to obtain full area discharge the inlet pressure must be sufficiently high so that the critical pressure is always above atmospheric pressure.

Accordingly, an important object of my invention is to provide a valve employing the principle of increasing the back pressure of the fluid flowing through the valve to a pressure not greater than the critical pressure and thereby utilize the back pressure to attain sufficient lift of the closure member or disc to transfer the orifice,

Referring to Fig. 1, the valve body or casing I generally designated I is formed having its lower portion 2 adapted for attachment to a boiler or other pressure containing vessel (not shown).

by bolting or screwing onto a conduit connection. A side portion or outlet 3 of the casing I is provided with screw threads 4 for attachment to an exhaust pipe (not shown) The upper portion of the body I has attached to it the usual yoke 5 which by cooperation with the adjusting nut 6 and the spring 1 guides and maintains a downwardly directed force upon the stem 8 which in turn transmits the downwardly exerted force to the piston-like closure member or disc 9 normally maintaining the latter in abutting contact with the seat I I.

The cylinder bushing or fixed annular member I2 which serves also as a guide for the disc 9, is preferably detachably secured to upper portions of the casing I to facilitate assembly operations on the valve and has a depending annular lip I3. The disc 9 is positioned within the bushing I2 and is adapted for reciprocable movement therein for opening and closing the valve.'

The lower portion of the casing I is provided with an inlet passageway I4 preferably having a detachable seat bushing I5, the latter provided with the throat or seat nozzle II! which is preferably a continuation of the inlet passageway. The upper portion I6 of the seat bushing I5 is screw-threaded on its exterior surface and has mounted thereupon the internally screw-threaded pop regulator ring I1 which when rotated will move axially upon the shank portion I5 of the seat bushing. Exterior screw threads are also provided upon the upper portion of the pop regulator ring I1 upon which the blowdown regulator ring I8 is mounted for axial adjustment with respect to the depending lip I3 of the bushing I2. Locking plugs I9 and 2I are provided which extend from the exterior of the casing I to engage the serrated exterior surfaces IIa and I8a of the pop regulator ring I1 and the blowdown regulator ring I8, respectively, for the purpose of preventing the accidental movement and maladjustment thereof.

The manner of operation of a device employing my invention as illustrated generally in Fig. 1, can best be explained by describing initially the function of each of the cooperating members. The compressible fluid controlled by the valve enters the valve through the inlet pasageway I4 and throat It and thereupon exerts an upwardly directed force against the exposed lower surface 22 of the closure member which is counterbalanced by the downwardly directed force exerted by the spring 1. When this upwardly exerted force exceeds the counterbalancing. force referred to, the disc or closure member 9 will rise from its normal-abutting contactwiththeseatl I and allow the fluid to escape into the annular chamber 23 which is defined by the angularly disposed surfaces 24, 25 and 26, respectively, of the disc 9, the pop regulator I1 and the seat bushing I5. It will be noted that by axial adjustment of the pop regulator ring I1, the size of the annular outlet orifice or passageway 21 of the chamber 23 may be varied to restrict more or less the escape of the fluid from the chamber 23 whereby the desired popping or release action of the valve may be obtained.

With the disc 9 slightly raised from the seat I I, allowing the fluid to escape into the chamber 23, the upwardly directed force of the fluid is exerted upon both lower surfaces 22 and 24 of the disc 9 thereby causing a further rise of the disc and a corresponding enlargement of the orifree 21. The fluid escaping from the chamber 23 enters the annular chamber 28 which is defined respectively by the annular surface 29 of the pop regulator ring I1, the annular surface 3I of the blowdown regulator ring I8, the annularly extending surfaces 32, 33,34 and 24 of the disc 9, and the under-surface 35 of the depending lip I3. It will be apparent that the annular outlet orifice or passageway 35 of the chamber 28 may be'varied in its size by axial movement of the blowdown regulator I8 by rotation of the latter member upon the pop regulator ring I1 to restrict generally the escape of fluid from the chamber 28.

The aforesaid restriction of fluid flow through the orifice 36 causes an increase of the fluid pressure within the chamber 28 thereby producing a still further rise of the disc 9 by reason of the pressure acting upon the surface 32 of the disc 9, in addition to acting upon the plane surfaces 22, and 24 of the disc. As previously explained, the pressure within the chamber 28, which is customarily referred to by those skilled in the art as back pressure, must not be permitted to exceed the critical pressure of the fluid if maximum efliciency of the valve is desired. In order to prevent any restriction of flow by the orifice passageway 36, it is necessary that its area must be not less than 1/1 times the area of the throat or seat nozzle II), the latter being the fluid inlet leading to the chamber 28 and r, as previously defined, being the critical pressure ratio of the fluid. However, by proper adjustment of the orifice 36 and the spring 1 the fluid pressure acting upon the disc 9 can readily be made to cause the disc to rise tov such an extent that the effective area of the. disc-seat opening is greater than the effective area of the throat I0, thus the latter orifice becomes the controlling orifice which determines the, rate of fluid flow through the valve.

From the above explanation it, is apparent that my invention provides a double pop of the valve in securing a full area discharge, that is, a discharge in, volume at least equal to, the discharge throughthe inlet throat I0. However, by proper adjustment of the blowdown regulator ring I8 it, is. possible to exercise suchfine degree of control so that the two pops or fluid discharges appear to occur simultaneously. The closing action of the valve comprises only the downward movement of the disc 9 to an abutting contact with. the seat II which occurs when the aggregate lifting forces, of the fluid acting upon the disc decrease to a, quantity lessv than the spring load..

Of course, the detailed manner in which regulation. of. the flow. through, the chamber of the valve. casing. is accomplished may vary considerably in the many forms available, and in the latter connection attention is now directed to an illustrative construction which is shown in Fig. 2 and which I specifically disclose herein. Fig. 2 is in general similar to Fig. 1 except for the resilient mounting of the blowdown regulator ring 5| which automatically prevents the back pressure within the valve from exceeding the critical pressure of the fluid. Attention is directed to the portion l6 of the seat bushing [5 which has the external screw threads 45 adjacent to the enlarged portion of the bushing. Encircling the portion I6 is a coiled or helical spring 46, the lower end of which abuts the adjusting nut 41 and the upper end of which shoulders against the angular sleeve 48 which is retained upon the portion l6 by the nut 49 and which is adapted to be movable for vertical movement upon the portion I6 against the compression of the spring 48. The outermost periphery of the angular sleeve 48 is provided with screw threads for axial adjustment of the ring 5| which is carried by the sleeve 48. The construction shown and described provides an annular chamber 52 having a restricted annular opening or outlet 53 surrounding the lower portion of the disc and the seat.

Compressible fluid entering the valve through the inlet l4 and the throat l and exerting sufficient pressure against the surface 22 of the disc 9 to lift the disc from abutting contact with the seat ll, discharges into the chamber 52 where, by reason of the relative restriction aflordedby the outlet 53, back pressure is built up within the chamber. The back pressure in the chamber 52 simultaneously forces the disc 9 to rise farther from the seat II and forces the angular sleeve 48 to be moved downwardly upon the portion N of the seat bushing against the compression of the spring 46. By proper pre-adjustment of the compression in the spring 46 by the nut 41, the back pressure within the chamber 52 can readily be prevented from exceeding the critical pressure of the fluid, and as the back pressure forces the ring 51 to recede from the depending lip l3 the outlet 53 is accordingly enlarged to permit less restricted flow of the fluid therethrough. However, the spring 46, whichurges the sleeve 48 upwardly during the period in which the valve is in the open position thereby restricting more or less the flow of fluid through the outlet 53, maintains back pressure in the chamber 52 which does not exceed the critical pressure of the fluid but which forces the disc 9 upwardly and sufficiently away from the seat I I so that the controlling orifice, considering valve discharge capacity, shifts from the disc-seat opening to the inlet throat opening III of the valve.

The foregoing constitutes a detailed description of preferred embodiments of my invention. Obviously, however, the details described may be varied without departing from the inventive concept disclosed, and it is to be clearly understood that right is herein reserved to all such modifications falling fairly within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a safety valve for compressible fluids, a casing having an inlet and an outlet, the said inlet having a seat, a sleeve member mounted within the casing above the said seat, a closure member having a seating surface cooperating with the said seat, means for restricting the flow 0f fluid through the said outlet comprising a resiliently positioned member mounted around the said seat, the said latter member having an extension cooperating with the lower peripheral portion of the said sleeve to form a chamber expandible upon predetermined pressure therewithin.

2. In a safety valve of the character described comprising a casing having an inlet and an outlet, a valve seat for the said inlet and a closure member for the said seat, a resiliently mounted, axially movable flow regulator sleeve surrounding the said seat, the said sleeve and the said casing providing therebetween an annular flow passage of variable area by axial movement of the said sleeve induced by the pressure of the flowing fluid, whereby back pressure within the valve is prevented from exceeding the critical pressure of the fluid to be discharged therefrom.

3. A safety valve for compressible fluids comprising a casing having an inlet and an outlet, the said inlet having a seat, a spring-loaded closure member having a seating surface cooperating with the said seat, resiliently mounted flow regulating means comprising a sleeve member surrounding and axially movable with relation to the said seat, the said sleeve member and the said casing providing an annular chamber therebetween, the said regulating means being movably responsive to the pressure of flowing fluid to provide for the expansion of the annular chamber whereby the back pressure within the chamber is prevented from exceeding the critical pressure of the fluid.

ROBERT E. FALLS. 

